"Piri piri" just means "pepper" in the related languages of sub-Saharan Africa, and you may have had piri piri sauce from a bottle, or used the specific variety under its English name, Bird's Eye Peppers, but the Portuguese found it in Mozambique. The flavor-cultural export found its way into the culinary world of Portugal and took hold the way curries have permeated the U.K. The Vilarinho family of restaurateurs from Porto Cancais outside Lisbon saw an opportunity here, and opened their first Chicken Piri Piri in America about ten years ago. Their newest location is a little storefront by Paradise Green in Stratford. CTBites recently stopped by for lunch, and here's what we found at Chicken Piri Piri Portuguese BBQ.
It’s a sweltering hot Sunday in July and a dozen of us are standing outside of Hoodoo Brown BBQ at quarter to eight in the morning. A father-daughter duo came in from the Upper East Side, one guy came from Queens, others made a 45-minute drive down from parts of the Hudson Valley or from various parts of Fairfield County, the rest sped over from up the street. At that time, Hoodoo Brown was still over three hours away from opening its doors to customers craving their Texas-inspired barbecue, so what the heck were we all doing there?
We are a little late in reporting the results of the Hartford Rib Off, but better late than never. It’s no secret that barbecue was really “invented” as permission to get dirty whilst eating. And the moistest, messiest, smokiest bbq around is usually what keeps us enthusiasts dreaming at night. Well, it’s time to find out what happened at the 10th Annual Hartford Rib Off last month and therefore, add to our list of bbq-tastic visits for the rest of the summer.
It was Father’s Day weekend and over 2,000 folks came out for serious sun and chow. And, if a gorgeous summer day, great food, the spirit of competition isn’t enough, support for local charities was the cherry on top of a successful weekend event.
Barbecue, unlimited drinks, raising money oh my. Hall’s Market of West Hartford supplied 4,000 pounds of meat for the two-day event. Attendees enjoyed samples from 20 different breweries, craft cocktails from Tito’s, barbeque from over 30 Pit teams, food trucks and live music from Hartford’s own Professors of Sweet Sweet Music.
You’ve arranged to keep the kids busy all summer long with camps and lessons, sleepovers and maybe a bit of volunteer work here and there, but what about some fun for YOU? Those kids shouldn’t get all the fun. And because we are, eh-hem, adults, learning a few new things alongside that good time is always a welcome bonus. Cooking classes are a unique way to have a memorable evening. You can go solo, with a friend or a group. Choose the flavors or the skills you are interesting in knowing more about. Then walk away with a full belly, new information and probably a few laughs under your chef’s apron. What the heck are you waiting for? Remember too, these are great gift ideas as well. Friend with a birthday during the summer? Treat them! It’s like dinner out but so much better. Pencil in some time for yourself this summer and treat yourself..like a kid.
Here is our Guide To Adult Cooking Classes in Connecticut.
Bear’s Restaurant Group, which includes Bear’s Smokehouse BBQ in Windsor, Hartford, and South Windsor, and Blind Pig Pizza in Hartford, today announced the official opening of its in-house brewery. This past week, in partnership with Black Hog Brewing Co., the on-site brewery debuted its first five beers brewed in-house and will now be offering them for consumption on-site or to-go in 32-ounce crowlers.
Pair these new brews with Bear’s Smokehouse BBQ favorites, smoked in the Kansas-City style that McDonald enjoyed growing up in Kansas City, Missouri. Some of these tasty morsels include: Baby Back Ribs, Pulled Pork, Pulled Chicken, Kielbasa, Turkey, Texas Sausage, Brisket and Burnt Ends served as a Sandwich, Entrée or Combo Plate.
Hot summer days and you don’t feel like cooking. The stove, oven, even the grill…it’s all so hot. But hold on a minute there, maybe *you* don’t have to! With a little foresight (read: now), your kids can learn to cook this summer, get inspired and whoa-oh, looks who’s not in the kitchen anymore?! Beyond your parental joy, though, kids will enjoy learning cooking skills, whipping up some pretty cool menus from around the globe and even having a cooking competition or two just to test their mettle. Just be sure to sign up your aspiring chefs soon, these classes and camps fill up quicker than hot grease will jump out of a pan!
Barbacoa Smokehouse is one of the most recent restaurants to grace the Fairfield food scene. The smokehouse marries modern technology with a rustic and relaxed setting. Kiosks replace waiters, though Ambassadors are on hand to help and answer any questions you may have.
So how does a restaurant with no menu yet tons of options work? The idea is that each customer can create something unique. Certain to appeal to Millennials and Gen Z-ers, this digital-age friendly way of ordering your food is incredibly easy to use. If you can get cash from an ATM, you can order your meal! The touch screen computer guides you through the process quickly and seamlessly in four easy steps.
Have you heard this lovely little conversation often during the summer months? Kids young and old let that horrifying phrase fall from their lips at an astounding rate. Are you just cringing thinking about how you will derail these declarations for 10 weeks? Well, now you can consider yourself informed and prepared to battle the cries of blahs and beat the little buggers at their own game! We’ve got some tasty ideas so that you can wave goodbye to boredom, and say hello to a creative and fun summer (not to mention, delicious). Maybe your kids will even treat you to a meal or two along the way. Maybe you’ll get the last laugh this summer…
It’s not warm enough to totally be outdoors and you’ve got a wicked case of cabin fever after this roller coaster of a winter. What’s a food loving, experience-hungry, knowledge-loving person to do? Take a class! Specifically, a *food* class!From breads to butchery, cheeses to fondant, we’ve assembled a class list that will have you hungry to learn, so to speak. Using the skills offered in these classes, you (and your friends, if a group activity if something you are looking for) can learn a wide variety of culinary skills that will allow you to have fun in the moment but then take that fun back to your own kitchen and share it. Learn to cook for a crowd, perfect skills you’ve been thinking you need a smidge of help with, or just do something different for an evening. Break out of that bread box! Strike a new (knife) pose! Any way you slice it (see what I did there?), you are going to have a grand time…learning! Who knew?
Up until recently, prime rib had all but vanished from restaurants. It remained on menus at less-than-trendy eateries or it was offered at others as a one-day-per-week special, but it never quite reached levels of steak extinction. If you’ve glanced at dinner menus lately—yes, even at hotspot restaurants—there’s a chance you’ve noticed that this beefy blue-plate special has reemerged!
If you’re a prime rib superfan, or if you salivate at the thought of a hearty slice of standing rib roast, Hoodoo Brown BBQ should be on your “Thursday Night Plans” list. Being a BBQ joint, they’re doing what you might imagine they’re doing with prime rib…they’re smoking whole 14 lb. roasts and serving them up until it’s all gone.
FairfieldCitizen online has some great news for meat lovers.
Trademark Fairfield, the first mixed used building constructed under the transit-oriented overlay on Commerce Drive, has its first commercial tenant.
The Town Plan and Zoning Commission Tuesday unanimously approved a compliance application for Barbacoa Smoke House.
The restaurant described itself in the ZBA application as “smoked barbeque with a Mexican overture.” its website tells patrons it provides “always fresh food with a pinch of cheeky fun.”
“I, for one, am very happy to see they’ve landed a tenant for the anchor spot in this building, right on the corner,” Chairman Matthew Wagner said. “It’s really great to see.”
In 2016, Forbes Magazine claimed to have discovered the “secret to happiness.” “Spend money on experiences, not things,” they told their readers. CNN took it one step further. “That's in part because the initial joy of acquiring a new object, such as a new car, fades over time as people become accustomed to seeing it every day…,” they reported. “Experiences, on the other hand, continue to provide happiness through memories long after the event occurred.”
Those looking to invest in a meaningful experience can find a solution tucked away in Wallingford, just off the highway, but hidden from view. Southern Connecticut Wine Company, located in an unassuming garage-like building behind the railroad tracks, affords people the unique opportunity to create their own wine over the course of a season. I had the chance to be an honorary co-op member for the day and witness a little bit of what they have to offer.
There’s something in the air at The Cook and The Bear. And we’re pretty sure it’s the scent of deliciously smoked brisket. Or maybe pastrami, or barbecue chicken. Whatever it is, we’re loving it.
The Cook and The Bear is brought to you by two well-known local chefs: Tyler Anderson and Jamie McDonald. A two-time nominee of the Best Chef Northeast James Beard Award and contestant in the upcoming season of Top Chef, Anderson is known to please palates at Simsbury's popular fine dining restaurant Millwright's, offering farm-fresh New England fare in a rustic setting. Jamie McDonald's Kansas City-style barbecue has led him to conquer the local food scene as well, with his fast-casual Bear's Smokehouse (located in Windsor and Hartford), his wood-fired pizzeria Blind Pig Pizza Co. in Hartford, and the recently opened Chango Rosa, serving Latin cuisine in the former Hot Tomatoes space at Union Station.
Located in West Hartford’s popular Blue Back Square, The Cook and The Bear instantly pulls you in with its rustic chic charm (and you know, that smoky aroma). Walk into this cozy spot, and you’ll know what we mean. With its exposed ceiling and garage door-turned-window, it has a cool industrial feel that’s new and trendy. But it still holds that classic cozy vibe thanks to striped wood tables, sink-in-your-seat booths, a fire wood lined wall, and checkered napkins. Because no barbecue spot is complete without checked napkins.
Wanna learn how to make your own wine? Wallingford’s Southern Connecticut Wine Company www.soconnwineco.com is Connecticut’s first micro winery and they have a few spots open in their fall SoConnWine CoOp. The CoOp kicks off on Saturday, September 16th with a full day of crushing grapes from 12pm - 4pm at SoConn. No barefeet required — the winery has machines for that Crushing will continue every Saturday through October 7th. CoOp members can come once, or come all four Saturdays. Lots of sips of wine are included at every CoOp event.
In 2004, Bob LeRose, a CT native whose wife, Kelley has Kansas City roots, decided that Connecticut was ready for the smoky, saucy, ribs, pulled pork and burnt ends he was missing from his father-in-law’s hometown, and opened Bobby Q’s Bodacious BBQ just off Main Street in Westport. Bobby Q’s quickly became known as a local watering hole for families, couples and friends, all seeking award-winning BBQ, creative house drinks and the best live music in Fairfield County.
But in March of 2016, sadly Bobby Q’s closed but Bob LeRose teased us with news of a planned new spot to enjoy his BBQ recipes and creative cocktails. And SOMETHING new.
The wait is over, as last month, Bobby Q’s Cue & Co. opened in the spanking new Waypointe complex on Merwin Street and a block over from the new Barcelona and Colony Pizza.
Barbeque took a circuitous route to land in Connecticut. The root word, possiblybarbacoa, is reportedly Carib indian for cooking food on a raised grate over a fire. This, then, is Barbeque: the verb. You may hear people using the word this way as we approach the Fourth of July: "hot dogs, hamburgers, we're having a barbeque." Historically correct or not, I am not down with the verb: "barbeque" is a noun. It is meat - deeply, carefully smoked - and the goal is a harmonic balance of aroma and flavor, the joining together of fire and food.
The path to opening the new H'Cue Texas BBQ in Derby has as many twists, turns, stops and starts as the route to its spiritual home in Lockhart, Texas.
The summertime heat makes me crave a meaty backyard barbecue with crunchy roasted corn on the side and finished off with a sweet slice of juicy watermelon. But where can you get a meal like this if you don’t feel like cooking at home? Mix summertime with the great eats in Connecticut, and you get a barbecue wish list extraordinaire with several spots ranking high on CTbites’ favorites list and others that we really need to try.
